When I've read somewhere that Cloud Atlas was going to be somewhat like an anthology of six novellas compiled into one book, I've braced myself for reading separate stories that only have its authorship (and, perhaps, some themes) as the only thing in common that it shares with one another.

In this account, I'm both right and wrong.

While Cloud Atlas certainly is an anthology of six novellas, it doesn't feel like one. (Or, at least in my case, it doesn't.) Cloud Atlas tells the story of six individuals scattered throughout time--from the 1800s to a post-apocalyptic future. Sometimes the story is told in first-person; sometimes it isn't. Ranging from journals to epistolaries to a pseudo-novel, Mitchell tells six stories that manages to suck you in. And, despite being authored by a single person, the six tales are so distinct that it seems as if the characters themselves came to life to tell their own stories.

Personally, I find Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After to be the weakest part--not because of its story, for I personally find its background to be the richest compared to the rest and its characters to be the strongest, but because of the narrative style. The main character's accent, I find, was extremely unnecessary. Still, even if I find it as the weakest part of the novel, when it stands on its own, it's still brilliant as the rest.

On the other hand, Letters from Zedelghem stands as my favourite and, therefore, it won't be much of a wonder when I declare that it's the strongest. I've found Robert Frobisher to be the most compelling character in the whole novel and I was deeply charmed by him.

Spoiler

AND HIS SUICIDE TORE ME TO PIECES WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT GOD FUCKING DAMN IT IF I WANTED EMOTIONAL DESTRUCTION I'D HAVE SAID IT, MITCHELL

And, not to mention, his romance with Rufus Sixsmith was gravely damaging for my emotional and mental health because *SQUEEEE* interesting, to say the least.

To conclude: Cloud Atlas is a richly imagined work of sheer and utter brilliance.